Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed refused to guarantee the future of men's national team head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, pointing to "abysmal performances" that had come during his tenure, despite a historic series win this month.
Last month, Faruque had just taken over as the board president in the wake of Sheikh Hasina's government falling in Bangladesh. He said in his first press conference that he wanted to "find someone better" than Hathurusinghe to take charge of the men's national team.
His comments were in line with his previous remarks on Hathurusinghe, on a YouTube show where Faruque had said there would be "greater damage by his presence" in the national team.
After those comments, Hathurusinghe helped Bangladesh secure their first-ever Test match win over Pakistan, before going on to whitewash them 2-0 in Rawalpindi, and there has been speculation that the historic victory might have helped clear the doubts over his future.
However, Faruque's latest comments have made it clear that the recent results will have no bearing on Hathurusinghe's future.
Another day dominated by batters 🔥
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) September 13, 2024
Check day 2 roundup here ➡️ https://t.co/URir8QNday pic.twitter.com/4d3uoGYHPi
Faruque Ahmed: It’s not just about coaching, there are other parameters as well
In an interview with Sportstar on Friday (September 13), Faruque was asked whether his stance on Hathurusinghe's position had changed in the wake of the Pakistan series win. In no uncertain terms, he said: "Let me make it clear that I have not changed my stance and I don’t want to assess anyone going by a particular series. For me, it’s about looking at someone’s performance during his tenure.
"Chandika has been with the team for a while, and there have been quite a few unsuccessful campaigns - including abysmal performances in the ODI and T20 World Cups. We will assess his tenure and it’s not just about coaching, there are other parameters as well.
"We need to see the team environment, look at his behaviour with senior and junior players and then make a decision. But this is not the right time. We will do the assessment and take a call on his future before our home season begins."
Also read: New Zealand, Afghanistan coaches left frustrated by abandoned Greater Noida Test
This is Hathurusinghe's second stint as Bangladesh's head coach. In the first, from 2014 to 2017 Bangladesh performed well in bilateral series but had a disappointing T20 World Cup in 2016, losing all four of their Super 10 matches.
Since being re-appointed in January 2023, Hathurusinghe has overseen an ODI World Cup in which Bangladesh finished eighth out of ten teams, and a T20 World Cup campaign where they lost all three of their Super 8 matches, but were just one win away from qualifying for the semi-finals.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
